CRUISER GAL1973

That sounds good CRUISER GAL 1973. Another question if I may - did you have to take your life jacket to the safety muster?

 

Leigh

Hi, No life jackets needed for muster drill.

Thanks CRUISER GAL 1973, yes I was aware of the IGI, we know the area quite well. Our daughter will be dropping us off about 12.30 pm so assume we will be able to be drive through to the terminal as others have told us. It seems you enjoyed the food in the MDR, how did you find the International Cafe? Was that where you had the soup and sandwich?

 

Leigh

Hi the International Cafe was awesome, food variety changed approx every 6-8 hours (well the dessert/baked items anyway), yes great soups (changed daily) and yummy salads, toasted swiches, ham n cheese croissants, salads. 24hours.

Hi ask as many Qs as you need! we arrived by taxi around 1030am at Port Melbourne, dropped off our suitcases and cooler bag of bottled water, they advised can enter terminal from 11am so we walked round the wharf area. There is a small IGA shop within 5mins fyi for anything last minute! We got to terminal and received cruisecard and i think Princess Patter. On the Patter you will nite which Main Dining room is open for lunch. We had to wait about 15minutes until allowed into next room with seating, due to lack of seats in that main area where security and immigration area. We sat for maybe 15-25 mins and they progressively called rows of seats. Then security and immigration and tgen boarded! Went to our room close to midday, room ready, then went to lunch in the main dining room😀

I have booked Golden Princess for the 2019 Transpacific Sydney to Los Angeles.

 

I know Golden Princess is old and will be heading to P & O, but other than that tell me about her.

 

Thank you in advance. :)

Hi fyi i just published my thought in both the Write a review' section and also on the Boards page, they should appear soon. Feel free to ask any specific questions i havent covered 😀

Hi, on Golden Princess last month we had lunch at one of the Main Dining Rooms. (We were not suite or high tier passengers).

We had a wonderful room steward Edmundo on Caribe deck, dined in MDR daily at 5:30pm, great food and food choices. I loved the ship's Singers and Dancers and the amazing ship orchestra band. The shows and entertainment were really great. If you like Broadway/theatre dont miss 'Born to Dance': brilliant.

Heaps of different movie options, daily activities and games were plentiful.

I had read previously how the ship was dated, desperately in need of refurb etc. Honestly we thought it was great-there was some frayed outdoor carpet needing replacement out on one of the top walking decks thay was quite unsightly but that was less than 1% of the ship looking unsightly.

Best Horizon Court buffet tip: Majority of people seem to eant/need to sit in main buffet area, so endeavour to go out to one of the 'out the back' seating areas, easy to find a seat and quieter too. Even better was the outside dining area looking out at the wake.

Sorry the rest of my review is a bit rambling. I will post it on the princess board as well in case someone has any questions...

Melbourne: dropped luggage at 1030, initial check in from 1100.

In addition to suitcases, dropped off cooler bag of bottled water for taking into port. Luggage arrived approx 1:30pm. Requested 2 Bathrobes. Check fridge temp as may need to make fridge colder. Lots of closet storage, and space for suitcases under bed or under clothes hangers.

I used the Princess Mobile planner on my phone, instructions will be on P.Patter ie switch to aeorplane mode, turn on wifi then use the golden princess site to view events, dining etc. Was very handy if you didnt have Princess Patter with you each time. (Fyi there are spare Patters at guest services counter).

Hints: Enter the Drink of the Day competition via watching The Wake Show each morning, esp early in the cruise when there are less entries. If you dont drink alcohol you can order any other drink up to the same value as a cocktail.

Request bathrobes on your first day (and fresh fruit if you want).

Magnetic Hooks/Magnets: as all the main walls are magnetic, we found our hooks really handy for cruise lanyards, our hats etc. The ones from Amazon only held a few hundred grams, I woukd definitely recommend ones that hold up to 2kg as it would have been great for clothes drying, hanging heavier items.

Room service menu is on the Phone App or in the blue folder of info in your room.

Take a dozen or more of bottled water (in Australia there is water package deal that other countries have on Princes s) helps with Port day hydration to take with you out and about. To buy bottled water on board (Fontelle brand) it is $3 for a 500 or 600 mL.

When ordering Breakfast Room Service be prepared for them to knock on your door 15/20 minutes before your requested time (better early than late but warning you just so you are looking presentable!) Also, have the small coffee table or foot of the bed cleared, as they prefer to carry it in for you and set it down.

The best (free) coffee is the Room service coffee or the one served in MDRs. I brought boxes of Moccona Vanilla Latte sachets and mixed it in with the buffet area coffee plus a sachet of Moccona full strength coffee like u get at hotels, worked a treat!! (Took the edge off the Princess coffee (although it was drinkable if desperate, but a little on the weaker side).

Although there is a TV Channel guide via TV, we found it handy to write on paper all the TV Channels. (There are about 4 movie channels inc a Family channel) Movies change daily and are repeated 3-5 times that particular day)

Bathroom amenities: hand pump shower gel + hand pump shampoo/cond combo, hand soap, 1 small body lotion, 2 drinking glasses, 2FWashers; 2 Hand towels and 2 Bath towels, Bath mat.

Room and amenities: 2Pillows each, very comfortable bed, cooler fridge, room safe, approx 8 drawers, 16-20 coat hangers, cupboard with six big shelves, 2 drinking glasses with ice tongs (you can request an ice bucket), pen and notepaper on desk, 3 bottles of water (which you must pay for if you drink them).

Lunch for embarkation day: One of the MDRs was open for lunch, also Intl Cafe and Buffet.

MDR: Sparkling water or bottled water is offered first-bear in mind this is not free so if you want, just request 'tap water'.

Caribe balcony (deck 10) C726 was a bigger size, 9 x 9 ft, about 40% overhead coverage from door then exposed overhead for the remaining 60%. We had 2 chairs/2footstools,1 small round table.

Horizon court: Reasonable range of food ...except they thought having only 2 handbasins at each entrance would be sufficient for 2600 pax cruise ship so be prepared to queue for the basins (it's worth it of course, to avoid getting sick or spreading sickness). Yes sometimes people bypassed the basins but in fairness some of these just wanted to get to the back of the ship outside and were simply walking straight past all food.

British pub food lunch: held on Day 2 and Day 11 at the Crown Grill, eg battered fish & chips; steak & kidney pie, bread & butter pudding..A good way to go to Crown Grill for free!

First night we had Welcome/Intro from Entertainment crew, a Song & Dance number and comedian Steve Allison, lots of laughs had. We went to the show about 7:30m for a 7:45pm start and found seats pretty easily.

Second Day/Night: Golf championship challenge begins, Lemon Meringue Pies!

Comedian Steve Allison's second show then Peter Byrne (tribute to Neil Diamond) Seats began filling up a bit earlier from here on in ie we got to the Princess Theatre about 7pm /7:10pm ish for the 7:45 pm shows. People were annoyed they hsd to get there early to get a seat for the show, but there is a 2nd show on the same night, There is no fairer way of doing it. I would say, for all the people complaining be careful what you wish for ie they may in the future instead assign you to a show or they may only open doors just before the show..I believe nothing wrong with first in best dressed. My husband and i would both be seated from 7pm and its a good time to write your review and to cull photos on your phone/camera, chat with those next to you/around you. My hubby would usually go to the men's room just outside the theatre, so down my handbag would go to save his seat for 2-3minutes... Some other passengers were spoken to disapprovingly when they did this, another was told she was lying when her hubby ducked to the toilet for a few minutes. To me, there is a difference in protecting your partners seat for a handful of minutes when you have both been there for the last 30minutes VS one of you reserving seat/s for a few people for a long period of time.

Fourth Day: . Lawn Court Challenge 1st and 2nd, FliptheCup challenge 3rd place, Golf challenge, Afternoon Trivia 1st place, Hot August Night Neil Diamond tribute show by fabulous Peter Byrne

Day 5: Port Chalmers/Dunedin We caught a minivan (Explore Dunedin) $5 each oneway. Public town bus is $6 ea ow and the large shuttles were $15 return (big long lines for these). We walked to Olveston House from the Octagon , looked around the gardens. Other people there seemed to have really enjoyed the house tour.

Arrived back 2pm for warm veggie soup, chicken sandwiches/tomato & mozzarella toasties then french vanilla slice...on your return you can use wifi at the big i-site shed...there will be a poster on the wall with wifi password.

*Remember to bring your photo id to show NZ Immigration when returning to port. Drivers licence fine if you don't want to carry your passport around.

Disembarkation Day: Scheduled for 9:30am and we were right on time (had to be out of Stateroom 8:30am. Hint: if you want to vire a different style of cabin for ypurself for another trip on that ship, this is the time to do it- we asked the room stewards first but they invited us to view the vacated Mini-Suite/ aft Suite/ interior-it gives you a good idea of their bathroom layout and how it compares to the room you have just had.

Hope this helps others for your next cruise :)

Thanks all for your input, some good tips to bear in mind. I will be taking some clean bags for my own washing in case I am not back on the dot. Hopefully others will bring a bag for themselves 😀

Hi Just wondering about laundry etiquette using the self-service laundromats onboard. EG If I needed to use a machine and someone's washing cycle has finished & they have a basket/bag on top of machine, is it acceptable for me to put their clothes in their bag and put on counter? (I would never remove clothes if they had not left bag/basket)

Could anyone tell me how dinner times coincide with the shows onboard?

 

We are undecided what to do in relation to dinner time slots.

 

Are the dinner schedules flexible at all if we chose the main dining as I believe you are allotted the same table each evening :confused:

 

We also have 2 teenagers travelling in our group with food allergies so this also needs to be taken into consideration with possibly pre-ordering dinner for the next evening.

 

We are going on the Voyager 13th Dec 2016.

 

Any info very much appreciated :D

Forgot to mention that Voyager Shows were at 6:45pm and 8:30pm. One night it was just my husband and myself at the table so we only had entrée & main in the Main Dining Room and then straight to the 6:45pm show (not always possible, depends on timing of main meals and of course we would not attempt it if other diners were at the table with us). You can also view the Menu on the screens throughout the ship near the restaurant during the day so you can preview what the MDR Menu is for that evening.

Hi JudyA01, to be honest it was maybe a tad on the firmer side, and I thought we would struggle with it, but after the first night we decided it was fine after all and we were not uncomfortable at all. Forgot to mention in review you can request a Towelling Bathrobe when you arrive : )

Hi,

Thank you for taking the time and trouble to post a review of VoS.

I take it was your first sailing on this ship ?

 

Our very first cruise was on VoS way back in 2001 and we have never looked back since. We look forward to sailing on her again in April 2017.

We last sailed with her in May 2010 in the Mediterranean so we expect to find a few changes !

May I ask if you did any shore excursions ?

 

Did you also have the internet package?

We have decided to purchase this for our sailing which to be honest we don’t normally do but I have heard mainly positive reports of it so seeing as we are so far from home we decided to take it.

 

Thanks again and regards

Ron.

Hi, we did not do any shore excursions (but our table mates/fellow cruisers seem to enjoy their excursions) and we did not purchase any internet at all. (I used wifi in Lautoka/Suva instead).

Hi DAWSONS, I have just returned from Voyager (loved it!) and we had 5:30pm Main Dining Room booking. Most of the tables were tables of 8. There were heaps of empty seats across a lot of tables on most of the nights. For anyone wishing to be seated at another session, they have to see if a party is not turning up (usually they allow 30mins but hopefully the party has already advised their waiter if they are not showing up). Your SeaPass card allocates your table number (check you all have the same table number) If you need to re-arrange anything check the Boarding Day Compass as there will be a specified time to speak with Dining staff. Enjoy!

Hi Shireboi, I have just returned from Voyager and fyi you get the IceShow tickets when on board, check Cruise Compass. On the RCI TV Channel on board there is a handy FlowRider information video showing how to ride : ) It is played several times throughout every day. Enjoy!

General: Loved our cruise holiday, loved the room (Superior with Balcony –Deck 7 (room 7640), very happy with friendly helpful staff. Very pleased with amenities, 'cruise compass' newsletter communication (delivered during turndown service dinner time) and activities.

Apologies this review is a little all over the show, as I drafted it whilst cruising, jotting things as I thought of them! Feel free to ask any questions : )

Last (smaller) cruise I suffered terrible sea sickness first 2days but all good on this one, thanks to the ship being much more stable (twice the tonnage (137,000) plus I took anti motion sickness tablets 3 hrs prior to sailing away.

There were 3,500 people on this cruise, fully booked out. That said, there were still plenty of sun deck lounges/chairs. If you are the type of person that needs to have the ‘best seat’ right next to the pool then you may be disappointed – instead if you are prepared to look a bit further out, there were ALWAYS empty/spare seats upstairs around the walking track. We went up to the High Notes lounge a few times on cruise days – it was so peaceful, relaxing, not crowded at all. Lots of different areas all over the ship to chill out and have your ‘own space’ if needed.

There will always be people who focus on the negatives or let unimportant things ruin their trip – we tried to avoid those sort of people or change the subject.

Main thing that was perhaps different to what I had read in previous reviews….Ice Show Tickets – the cruise compass advertised you had to get your tickets on a certain day/time eg. “between 0915-1030 tomorrow a representative of your party will need to pick up your Ice Show tickets”. (Previously this seems to have been done by muster station??). You do not even have to show your SeaPass or be part of same room or booking….one person can show up and request tickets for their travelling party for a particular show , these are usually 1330 or 1530 and then repeated the next day same times. Don’t worry too much though as they release seats 10mins prior to show starting so you can rock up to your desired show.

My biggest tip for embarkation day? Between 11:30 to 13:30 probably best to avoid the Windjammer for lunch –staterooms are not usually ready before 1300 so EVERYONE is having lunch at the same time and for the faint hearted this could be quite overwhelming. If we knew how good Café Promenade (deck 5) was for lunch we definitely would have gone there instead. Whilst there are not that many tables there, you can grab something and take along to other tables and chairs/tavern/public areas. However if you do go to the Windjammer, don’t let the crowds put you off for the rest of the cruise, as this is the busiest it will probably be for the entire cruise. Also, we avoided Windjammer during peak times eg 6-7pm for dinner, 1230-1330 for lunch. Most other times you can easily find a table.

Quite a few opportunities to meet n greet DreamWorks characters plus they have some great parades! (Advertised in advance in c.compass)

Unless you are intent on purchasing the advertised sale items in the various Promenade sales, I would suggest to avoid that area of the Promenade until the 'frenzy' atmosphere has dissipated somewhat! The Cruise Compass will advise sale times. If frail, unstable on feet etc would be very tricky to navigate through the crowd fyi.

Only important announcements are broadcast through your room speaker, and you can even switch to 'off'. General info announcements from cruise director/activities director/ the Captain will be broadcast via corridor speakers, you will faintly here these in yr room so just open your door slightly to hear clearly if you want to.

Breakfast room service tip: we ticked 2x 'Assorted Jams' and we got 2 Apple Jelly sachets in total. So prob best to have a little supply of spare jams, extra sugar for cereal from the Windjammer (ie take during the bfast session).

Pizzas/Food: best pizzas are via room service, much better dough base. Beware they are small pizzas (4small quarters) and NOT by the slice!! Pizzas in promenade/wjammer very ordinary, prob the ONLY food that is, so do not despair.

Soft serve 'ice cream' dispenser allegedly nicer in Wjammer than pool area fyi. Handy for adding to your crumbles, puddings etc!

Cafe Promenade has handy takeaway cups n lids for when you want to walk around with your coffee from the drinks station. Fyi they had water station but no lemon/flavoured drinks.

Day 1: Arrived 11am, stapled suitcase tags prior to getting in taxi, thus avoiding line of people waiting to get their tag attached! Have ready Passport, Signed sea pass, lanyard for your card.

About 15-25 mins for rci check in, about 10 mins for customs/immig then we were on! If you wanted to shave off time, you could arrange to fill out those green immig departure cards (ie get some from an airport beforehand)

Rooms are not ready til 1pm, our deck 7 luggage arrived around 2:30-3pm ?

Windjammer for lunch approx 1145, yes it was busy and stuffy & chaotic but after only 5mins found seats. Bit overwhelming for the faint hearted though for your first hour of cruisin..but great range of food, drinks station where there us a tray of water, lemon cordial, and often another flavour, you ask them for coffee/hot water. Self serve with milk, brown/equal/white sugars, herbal teas of chamomile & peppermint available, plus decaf tea, green tea, black teabags etc.

Arrived in room, bigger than it looked in photos, yay! Two nice outdoor chairs w table. I had brought HEAPS of stuff and clothes etc, and I managed to empty 2 entire suitcases into little drawers, cupboards (storage spots everywhere). Fyi spare blanket is under the bed, and there is enough space for 2suitcases under the bed.

Lots of wardrobe hangers and handy shelves inside also. We had a 3 seater couch, the tv can be swivelled from side to side ie to watch from either couch or the bed. We had a small kettle, mugs, sugar, tea and coffee, plus 4 little UHT milk capsules (all replenished daily). I would suggest on your first day/night through room service order MILK, and you will get small UHT cartons (100mL?) you can put in cupboard until you need them.

The 'fridge' is more like a cooler box but drinks reasonably cold (stateroom attendant confirmed not technically a fridge?)

Inside the shower from one side to another is a small retractable line (90cm?) for drying clothes. Dispenser of shampoo plus a shower soap and basin soap. Bath towels, hand towels, facewashers and bathmat, replenished as needed.

Dreamworks Parade was great, we stood on deck 6 overlooking it, as promenade very crowded. If you want a spot down on the Promenade just line up 10-15mins prior along the promenade strip. There are cute little public balconies overlooking promenade which are good for videoing or photo opps ie deck 6/7/8.

Really like Cafe Promenade, usually 4-5 varieties rolls/sandwiches, 2-3 diff cookies, 2-3 desserts/cakes, plus u can ask for either piece of cheese pizza or pepperoni pizza and sometimes Roast Beef.. Every condiment you could want on the counter! Self serve Drinks station with coffee, hot choc (Nestle dark choc sachets, lowfat) tea, milk etc , even decaf.

Day 2: Saw Johnny Rocketts staff singing and dancing, great atmosphere. Didn’t eat there as the hamburgers (make your own up) were pretty good in Wjammer

Watched stand up Flow Rider this arvo, lots of falling off!

8:15pm Fantastic Broadway show, live band, brilliant dingers and dancers. Mitch is cruise director, very funny and personable, introduced and closed the show. Room service can be ordered easily via your TV – they will then phone you within 10 mins or so to confirm your order and the estimated delivery time. Our delivery times were usually 30mins.

Day 3: Main dining room breakfast, Diamond club members first, approx 10 mins wait for 0830.

Walked around Promenade shops, upstairs to pool/solarium area-great adults area, easily found vacant deckchair seats. Some of the pools closed due high winds, showers. Sea up to 3m.

Lunch in main dining room was nice, miraculously got table for two! In the middle of dining room there is a salad bar (served up to you by staff behind counter) and also a self serve section w diff cheese, salami, meats, salmon etc which you can have with/before/after yr menu meal (or in place of).

Walked round Promenade after lunch, great live band opp cafe promenade, they took requests too..great atmosphere everyone singing along to Sweet Caroline : )

Windjammer for afternoon tea at 3pm, (this is everyday between 3-4pm….delicious scones, jam n cream, apple crumble!

The ice show at 3:30 allows entry 3:20 onwards if enough spare seats so we went down and got in, very talented performers.

Room service breakfast usually arrived 10-20 mins earlier than booked, so be prepared lol. Got to have a great bfast on balcony watching us come in to port (0800). Very rainy and overcast so spent time at port side undercover market, then wandered round main streets, then back to under cover market before back on ship. Poor people who had booked snorkelling tours had had them cancelled due poor weather.

Day 6: Lautoka, brilliant view from our balcony looking on to water. Tried Main dining room breakfast Buffet style, good for a port morning and lot of variety, all self serve except tea/coffee/hot chocolate.

Around 30 degrees outside! Would have been good to take umbrella for shade.

Lots of tour operators and taxi drivers requesting yr business. There was a $8 return price for cruise shuttle, but we walked to McDonald's/Post Office area in approx 15 mins at reasonable pace. Reminder McDonalds needs either Fiji dollars or eftpos $10 minimum for their transactions (ie if going there for free wifi with a purchase) .

Back on ship, went down to the Helipad, accessed off Deck 4 forward (steep) stairs, great view from helipad. Usually closed at various cruising days due to very high winds out there, so a port day good opportunity.

Enjoyed the Towel Animals in our room every 2-3 nights. We did the Behind the Scenes All Access Pass – was on Day 10 ($150 pp). The Captain also hosted a presentation in the theatre including a Q and A session. You can also do Galley tour only , when Giovanni’s offer $35 lunch with galley tour.

Overall, had a very wonderful cruise!

hi, I have submitted a review this evening for Sea Princess so should appear soon, hope this helps. If I can answer any more questions let me know : )

On our 7night Sea Princess cruise it was the 4th night. On our online account the system showed we were having 2 formal nights but once onboard it was only the one. Take advantage before and after dinner of the photography portraits on offer, they are very professional and the more you get done with the different photographers and different portrait backgrounds, the more likely you are to get some great pics. If people weren't going go traditional dining they didn't get dressed up but most men in the dining room had suit and tie/suit and bow tie, some had a tux but not many. Most ladies had cocktail wear rather than evening gowns. Take into account footwear as heels may not be a good idea if the cruise gets a bit rocky !

We were in a Mini Suite and our bathrobe was very thin and very worn, looked like it had been washed a thousand times : ( Our friend was in an Ocean View room and his steward brought him one too, so sounds like it is each cabin as someone mentioned. Didn't see theirs but it could not have been worse than ours!

Hi, we found water on a recent Sea Princess cruise to be very drinkable. My partner drinks a lot of water and can be particular about his water, but he was fine with plain old ship water. FYI, we carried a few glasses back from the buffet each night to put in our fridge but some people had a small thermos for their rooms. There is also an ice machine to keep water cold.